Englishman Ian Hutcheon had been dabbling in astronomy and wine making for years. Recently, he decided to combine his two interests to produce Meteorito—the first Cabernet Sauvignon aged with a meteorite.
We’re sure you’re asking, what does that even mean? Let us walk you through the process. After harvesting grapes from Hutcheon’s Tremonte Vineyard in the Cachapoal Valley in Chile, he continues with the traditional wine manufacturing procedure but with his own extra-terrestrial twist.
Originating 4.5 billion years ago on the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, Hutcheon’s meteorite is believed to have landed on the Earth approximately 6,000 years ago in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Although it belongs to an American collector, the three-inch space rock has recently relocated to the bottom of a barrel filled with fermenting fruit. For 12 months, the meteorite remains submerged in close quarters with the wine, eventually giving the rich liquid a “livelier taste” as it becomes a finished product.
“When you drink this wine, you are drinking elements from the birth of the solar system,” Hutcheon explains. And who wouldn’t want to experience such a flavor, whatever it may taste like.
Meteorito Cabernet Sauvignon is slowly but surely making its way to other countries, but for now, the 10,000 liters that have been produced are exclusively bottled and sold at the Centro Astronomico Tagua Tagua, an observatory in Chile also owned by Hutcheon. If you ever find yourself vacationing in that region, we suggest you purchase yourself a bottle or two—but feel free to pick us up a bottle as well.